Be the Referee: Basketball Measurements
By
Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials
January 4, 2023
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Basketball Measurements - Listen
If you’ve seen the movie “Hoosiers,” you know that a basketball rim is 10 feet above the ground. That’s the same if you are in the gym at Beaver Island High School or at Little Caesars Arena. But what are the other court dimensions?
To start – courts are typically 84 feet long but can be up to 94 feet long. They are 50 feet wide.
The free throw line is 15 feet from the face of the backboard and the high school 3-point line is 19 feet, 9 inches from the basket.
Each hoop is a circle, 18 inches in diameter.
The boys play with a basketball 29½ inches in circumference, the girls with one 28½ inches in circumference.
And believe it or not, two girls balls will go through a standard rim at the same time.
Previous Editions:
Dec. 13: Pregame Dunks - Listen
Dec. 6: Gymnastics Judges - Listen
Nov. 22: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 15: Back Row Illegal Blocker - Listen
Nov. 8: Swim Turn Judges - Listen
Nov. 1: Soccer Referee Jersey Colors - Listen
Oct. 25: Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Oct. 18: Soccer Shootouts - Listen
Oct. 11: Safety in End Zone - Listen
Oct. 4: Football Overtime Penalty - Listen
Sept. 27: Kickoff Goal - Listen
Sept. 20: Soccer Timing - Listen
Sept. 13: Volleyball Replays - Listen
Sept. 6: Switching Sides - Listen
Aug. 30: Play Clock - Listen
Aug. 23: Intentional Grounding Change - Listen
Performance of the Week: Detroit Cass Tech's Stevie Hall
January 9, 2026
Stevie Hall ♦ Detroit Cass Tech
Junior ♦ Basketball
The 6-foot-2 guard scored the game-winning basket in Detroit Cass Tech's 54-52 victory over Cleveland Central Catholic during the Dec. 29 Detroit Public School League Holiday Classic. He also went over 1,000 career points during that game, which he finished with 32 points, seven assists and five steals as the Technicians broke a two-game losing streak.
Hall followed that milestone a day later with 31 points in Cass Tech's 82-42 win over Macomb L'Anse Creuse North at the Motor City Roundball Classic at Ferndale, a win that gave his father and coach Steve Hall 200 leading the Technicians boys basketball program. Stevie Hall – who already has received several Division I college basketball offers – has scored 30 more more points in six straight games, and Cass Tech is 5-3.
@mhsaasports 🏀POW: Stevie Hall #CassTech #basketball #highschoolsports #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA ♬ Bright and fun upbeat pops, Kids, Animals, Pets, Fun, Cute, Happy, Playful, Upbeat(1465232) - SAKUMAMATATA
@mhsaasports 🏀POW: Stevie Hall #funfacts #tiktalk #performanceoftheweek #highschoolsports #MHSAA ♬ Girly and cute synth pop - SAKUMAMATATA
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Previous 2025-26 honorees
Dec. 18: Ethan Martha, Ishpeming Westwood basketball - Report
Dec. 11: Louis Smith, Three Rivers wrestling - Report
Dec. 4: Traverse Smith, DeWitt football - Report
Nov. 28: Elizabeth Eichbrecht, West Bloomfield swimming - Report
Nov. 20: Brady Kieff, Blanchard Montabella football - Report
Nov. 13: Ella Laupp, Battle Creek Harper Creek swimming - Report
Nov. 7: Hunter Eaton, Charlevoix cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Stephen Gollapalli, Lansing Christian tennis - Report
Oct. 23: Talya Schreiber, Pickford cross country - Report
Oct. 16: Avery Manning, Dexter golf - Report
Oct. 9: Brady Van Laecke, Hudsonville football - Report
Oct. 2: Sarah Giroux, Flat Rock volleyball - Report
Sept. 25: Sam Schumacher, Portage Central tennis - Report
Sept. 18: Kaylee Mitzel, Saline field hockey - Report
Sept. 11: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
Sept. 4: Kate Posey, Big Rapids golf - Report
(Action photo by Adam Sheehan. Headshot courtesy of the Cass Tech athletic department.)